2012: The Year In Music

2012 – Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee. Whitney Houston passes away. The UK hosts its third Olympic Games. Felix Baumgartner breaks the record for highest skydive at 128,097 feet. And the world didn’t end, as some prophesised … so let’s celebrate with some banging music!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – What Makes You Beautiful (One Direction)

Oh good. It’s the year when One Direction made all the girls swoon.

I don’t like a single One Direction song – they’re all contrived and repetitive. “What Makes You Beautiful” is no different.

9 – Starships (Nicki Minaj)

One of the more annoying Nicki Minaj songs.

8 – We Found Love (Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris)

Harmless Pop. “We Found Love” is an earworm if you listen to it enough times.

7 – Stronger [What Doesn’t Kill You] (Kelly Clarkson)

Kelly Clarkson is very much an American sensation – we didn’t hear any of her music here in the UK.

“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” is pretty boring Pop.

6 – Glad You Came (The Wanted)

Yeah, it’s cheesy … but “Glad You Came” has a specific place in my formative memories.

It’s not a good song but any means but I’ll let it slide.

5 – Lights (Ellie Goulding)

Weirdly, I don’t think I’ve heard “Lights” before. It must’ve passed me by at the time.

It’s alright. The synths are bright and bubbly.

4 – Payphone (Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa)

From “Moves Like Jagger” onwards, Maroon 5 released annoying song after song – inexplicably, they all still continue to become hits.

“Payphone” is boring and cheap. I’m pretty sure it rips off another song, too, but I can’t remember it off the top of my head.

3 – We Are Young (Fun feat. Janelle Monáe)

“We Are Young” is a step above the rest of the hits so far.

It has one of the most rousing and unforgettable choruses of the year, and Janelle Monáe brings it home with a great bridge.

2 – Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen)

At the time I remember despising “Call Me Maybe”. It was girly and sickly and young Matt wanted no part of it.

To be fair, I was too harsh in hindsight. It’s one of the better Pop songs of 2012.

1 – Somebody That I Used to Know (Gotye feat. Kimbra)

“Somebody That I Used to Know” made the highest-rated songs list in 2011. Not many Pop songs from the 80’s onwards have the accolade of being critically-acclaimed whilst still being a popular hit.

It’s clearly one of the best, most unique Pop songs of all time. It’s extremely intelligent and rousing with the way it’s produced and written.

FAVOURITE – “Somebody That I Used to Know” (Gotye feat. Kimbra)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “Starships” (Nicki Minaj)

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – Elephant (Tame Impala)

I’m surprised “Elephant” is only number ten on this list – it’s one of the best and most recognisable Rock (or Psychedelic Rock) songs of that decade.

It’s kooky enough to be captivating, but the bass and drum backbone makes it a mainstay of any party soundtrack.

9 – Swimming Pools [Drank] [Extended Version] (Kendrick Lamar)

A solid Kendrick song. There are plenty of other great ones on the album, too.

8 – Apocalypse Dreams (Tame Impala)

Tame Impala are at their best on “Lonerism” when they lean into the apocalyptic, isolating feelings of this generation.

Nowhere is this more prevelant than “Apocalypse Dreams”. The drums are simple yet sublime, and the slower choruses put you in a trance.

7 – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (Tame Impala)

This is the best song on “Lonerism”.

It’s Psychedelic to the max, and the choruses are an out-of-body experience. Few songs make me feel so oddly sad.

6 – Hacker (Death Grips)

“Hacker” is the closing song on “The Money Store”, and it’s also my favourite Death Grips song.

It has some of the most insane synths you’ll ever hear, and that chorus is unsettling yet weirdly catchy.

5 – Pyramids (Frank Ocean)

“Channel Orange” has one banger after another, but none are quite as all-encompassing as “Pyramids”.

The first half is vibrant and danceable, the second half is more sensual and slow. Overall, it’s expertly written and performed.

4 – Money Trees (Kendrick Lamar feat. Jay Rock)

This song has over two billion streams on Spotify – far more than other songs on the album. I have no idea why.

“Money Trees” is fine, but I don’t think it’s among my top five songs on the album.

3 – Myth (Beach House)

A very solid album opener. It’s far more subdued and chill than the rest of the songs in this top ten, which is perhaps why it didn’t grip me as much.

2 – M.A.A.D City (Kendrick Lamar feat. MC Eiht)

The intro to “M.A.A.D City” is so iconic.

Great flow, good rhythm, an all-round solid Rap track.

1 – Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst (Kendrick Lamar)

Kendrick puts it all on the line for this 12-minute masterpiece.

His flow is sublime, his lyrics are profound and the music itself is at its best for the album.

BEST SONG OF 2012 – “Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst” (Kendrick Lamar)

For the first time I think ever in one of these retrospectives, all of the highest-rated songs came from one of the five highest-rated albums. Good for quality but not good for variety.

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – The Money Store (Death Grips)

There is no musical act out there quite like Death Grips.

I remember listening to “The Money Store” after finding out Fantano gave it a perfect ten – the album is still mind-blowing many years later. It has production and lyricism on a bold scale we rarely see.

My favourite definitely has to be closer “Hacker” – one of the most nuts songs I’ve ever heard.

4 – Bloom (Beach House)

I’ve talked about Beach House in some of the recent year’s retrospectives. They aren’t my favourite.

It’s a very chill, laid-back style of Rock that doesn’t really grip me.

3 – Channel Orange (Frank Ocean)

Frank Ocean is one of those artists of the 2010’s that I’ve heard great things about but haven’t properly listened to until now, so I was excited to check out “Channel Orange” for the first time.

It’s funny – I remember a long stretch of RnB in the 90′ and 00’s that I really didn’t like … but Frank Ocean is now reminding me that it’s a genre with so much potential.

“Thinkin About You” is the perfect start (not including the brief album opener), songs like “Sweet Life” bring the Jazz, “Lost” is another banger of a track, and “Pyramids” is the epic track that ties the whole thing together. I was very impressed with the overall package.

2 – Lonerism (Tame Impala)

From the moment I first heard it, “Lonerism” became one of my favourite albums of all time.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a track that doesn’t fit – songs like “Elephant”, “Apocalypse Dreams” and especially “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” have played relentlessly in my mental jukebox for over a decade.

1 – Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (Kendrick Lamar)

Kendrick was already starting to make a name for himself with “Section.80”, but I think it was “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” that really put him on the map.

It’s an album that still sounds fantastic, and I really enjoyed songs like “M.A.A.D City” and “Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst”, but I know the best of Kendrick is yet to come.

BEST ALBUM OF 2012 – “Lonerism” (Tame Impala)

Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar gave us some incredible albums in 2012, but there will always be a special place in my heart for “Lonerism”. Tame Impala captured the unconfidence and isolation of a generation.

Final Thoughts

I would’ve liked to hear more variety in the high-rated songs, but otherwise this was a great year for music. The critically acclaimed songs and albums were exceptional, and the Pop hits didn’t make me want to put a gun in my mouth.

Overall Grade: A-

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: